There’s a bird that sings outside my window. I hear him every morning about this time, but most mornings I go back to sleep with a smile on my face and wake up way too late. This morning? No chance. I laid there and listened for an hour. Then the bird just stopped.

I tried to ‘nap’….not gonna happen. I flip flopped for another hour then got on my phone to check Facebook. What a time suck that is. Right? Who else get on Facebook just to check on something only to realize it’s been 2 hours?!

The husband woke up somewhere around 6:30….he also got on his phone. We really do have a wonderful relationship. 🙂

Got into the exercise room about 7. I only did 30 minutes this morning. I did not feel well. Still don’t as a matter of fact.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the consequence of last nights bad choices.

I figured today will just be my ‘rest’ day. There should be one every week, right? So today is mine.

Eat on plan today, high water volumes, tomorrow should be a better day.

My step-dad used to say,”Don’t dance if you can’t pay the fiddler”…well, I’m paying the fiddler today. And the price feels pretty steep.

Keep that in mind when you make a choice that you KNOW is going to have bad consequences……you gotta pay that fiddler. Nobody gets away without paying the fiddler.

Let’s look at this more closely….life is truly about choices. Perhaps as a child you have few choices to make because your parents made them for you. Hopefully they taught you how to make choices because it truly is a learned art form. If they didn’t, hopefully you learned from your mistakes and making bad choices growing into adulthood. Hopefully you don’t make a series of mistakes as I did tonight.

Choosing the right is important. The right clothes, the right house, the right car, the right shoes, the right partner, the right meal. Living with a bad choice has it’s consequences.

this morning was rough – up at 2 with rain….and couldn’t get to sleep until after 4. Needless to say getting up with the new alarm time of 6:30 didn’t happen. In fact I didn’t hear my husband leave….which I was counting on him waking me up. Apparently I was close to comatose.

Anyway – up at 8, hitting the exercise room by 8:30. Got through my cardio and decided to get right into the weights since I was so late. Bad move. I had depleted my glucogyn with the cardio, I was exhausted. So I had brunch, made a couple of phone calls then went to complete the weights. It worked nicely.

Made a few more calls, took care of some business, made a fabulous keto dinner and here we are.

I can actually feel my muscles tonight. I’ve been really good about exercise for a total of about 4 whole days. wow. Prior to this it was hit or miss. Most mornings I would do cardio and/or body weight exercises but missed the entire 9 days I was out of state. (I really gotta get better about that) But for the last 4 days I have been consistent and I can feel them. And I’m standing and walking taller.

I can only imagine how much it will improve as I continue this path. And as I’m dialing in my nutrition I can only imagine how quickly I’ll start to see the results. In fact I see some of it now….can’t wait for those around me to notice!

I have decided to go with a keto diet for the next 11 weeks. (because that’s when my vacation starts!!!! woot!!!) Clearly I will do as much as I can to remain keto while on vacation but that’s really when it becomes out of your control.

But again, I digress…Keto for me.

What is Keto you ask?

High fat, moderate protein and low carb. I had asked the question of just how low carb it was and was informed that it can vary depending on the individual.

I will let you know where I end up in the carb ‘ladder’ once I figure it out. Today was fairly low….

Following a keto diet can have many benefits and I would urge you to check it out if you’re looking for a healthy alternative to the Standard American Diet. Which we know…isn’t healthy at all. 🙂

And of course you can always ask me. Just leave a comment and your e-mail.

Lesson today – must eat before lifting…..cardio on an empty stomach is good. Lifting on an empty stomach is not.

Well, it would have been if I had actually gotten out of bed like I was supposed to. Husband was curled up still sleeping….I curled up next to him and stayed in bed….just closing my eyes for a minute. riiigggghhhhttttt……at 6:30 I rolled out of bed. I think I’m just going to set my alarm for 6:30. hahaha

I was able to complete P90X3 and Core de Force before heading downstairs to speak with my lab partner. I’m really lovin’ P90X3…and recommend it if you’re looking for a fast, complete workout! It combines yoga, calisthenics, a little weight lifting…..a nice combination.

Completed my lab, (the last lab!!!) while I drank my morning Shakeology. Chocolate today made with hemp milk. Deeeeeelicious! Also lovin’ that hemp milk!

After my lab and other homework, I decided to eat my lunch in the sun. It’s been cold and rainy for the past few days and it’s left me cold. I’m a summer person and not digging this cold stuff at all, so lunch in the sun with a phone call to my best friend. It was great.

Came in to complete more homework then back upstairs to lift weights. Body Beast – another program that I truly enjoy. I completed ‘Back and Bis’ today. A shower completed the afternoon. What a day.

Weight….let’s talk weight. Muscle weighs more than fat….and takes up less space. Fat loss is a slow process. Building muscle when you have fat to lose will seem like you’re not making progress. You are. Don’t put all your faith in whatever the number is that comes up on the scale.

Measure yourself. Use those measurements as a guide to your success. Look at yourself naked in the morning…use that visual as a guide. You should take ‘before’ and ‘after’ pics….I will be taking them on a bi-weekly basis and posting here….as soon as I have an ‘after’ pic to post.

I am stronger than I was a month ago. I have better lung capacity than I did a month ago. And the only weight I’ve lost is the bloat that I get from over eating crap food at gatherings.

Yes I could eat less. However, eating less isn’t the answer. Eating better is. And I’m working on that. And will discuss that as soon as I have the next menu put together. 🙂

A lesson for today? Get out of bed at a reasonable time….and if you wake up before your alarm, roll with that. Don’t go back to bed!

Darn that alarm! I shut it off, closed my eyes and woke to my husband saying goodbye at 6:20. <<sigh>>

Got up, made my morning energy drink and hit the exercise room.

This morning I did The Firm volume 2, low impact aerobics. worked up quite the sweat!

Following was P90X3, day 1. I think I’m in love! What a fun workout, challenging and definitely had those moves that I had to look at the TV again and say ‘what??’

I was hungry when I finished with these, and had a phone call to make so I ended my morning cardio there, came downstairs and fixed my Shakeology drink….made it with hemp milk this morning….what a great flavor!

Had my call, did a bit of study then fixed lunch….4 hard boiled eggs, 1 slice of bacon crumbled and 2 tablespoons of Ranch dressing. It fit the bill.

A 3 mile walk listening to a couple of lectures through my phone….then it’s leg day with Body Beast when I return!

Oh, and I must say, that bloat from the weekend? Gone. Down 3 lbs this morning. 🙂 not where I want to be but it’s better than yesterday!

So I’m actually writing this a day late. I was all over the map yesterday!

I got up, a little bit late. After the alarm went off at 5:45 I just closed my eyes for a second….my allergies have been awful and my eyes were stinging right out of the gate!…and it was almost 6:30 when I opened them. WHA?!?!?!?!?!?!

I’m doing a couple of programs concurrently. And while I don’t recommend this for everyone, right now, I need this. My metabolism is in great need of revving…..and this is how I’m doing it.

So I got up, took my drink and a glass of water into the exercise room and got to work. First DVD was The Firm, volume 1, total body workout. Now this is from the 90’s. It happens to be THEE FIRST exercise tape I ever owned. Gosh I saved for two months (as a single mom not making much and receiving little help) to make this purchase…..and I love the original series….there’s 4 that I have. Anyway – I digress….started with this. 65 minute total body workout…simply fabulous….then I did Core de Force by Beachbody, day 1 – a 27 min kickboxing routine with 6 rounds, starts with a warmup, followed by kickbutt routines ending with a stretch to start your day. I love love love Core de Force!

Unfortunately because I woke up late, I was unable to complete Beachbody’s 22 minute Hard Corp with Tony Horton and a host of retired military. It’s fun, fast and gets the job done. I had hoped to get this in later in the day. But it was not to be.

After these two dvds I got to my school work, I’m completing my health coach certification and NASM personal training. Lots to study.

I wasn’t really hungry, I ate sooo much over the holiday weekend…..very bloated.

I had a Beachbody shakeology for a late breakfast (around 11) and was good for a couple of hours. I went back to the exercise room to complete Body Beast (weight lifting) to finish my daily exercise. Day 1. Chest and Triceps. Always a good time. haha

After completing this I made the old Beast shake. Unfortunately Beachbody doesn’t make this one anymore….and it’s so tasty! They tell me the new stuff is better, but I’m going through my ‘stash’ before making any new purchases.

Before I knew it, my husband was home and it was time to make dinner. Not being hungry I wasn’t really sure what to make. But I ‘redesigned’ some leftovers and thought I should really eat something since I expended so much energy through out the day and hadn’t eaten much.

After dinner, the hunger was on! I snacked on a tastycake, some goldfish and a Reeses peanut butter egg! I’m so bad. I took my book upstairs and read my homework in bed with a glass of water, hanging my head in shame. haha

Chances are you didn’t follow through with your New Years Resolution…and still want to lose weight or get into shape.

You don’t understand why you gained the weight

You have cravings that you don’t know how to handle so you end up eating

The people around you are overweight or unhealthy

You want to lose weight fast so you’re considering which diet to use

You don’t have enough time for yourself

You are stressed out from family and work responsibilities

Your family needs to eat better but you don’t know how to do that

You’re confused about which foods are better for you

Nothing has worked before so you continue to gain weight or have chronic health issues.

As your Health Coach, I will help you, step by step, to understand your ‘why’ and assist you in creating the best habits to change your way of eating. Permanently. Not a fad diet, not a 3 week diet, and not until you lose the weight, but permanent changes in your lifestyle to help you become the best you. The you, you’ve dreamed about. The you, you knew you could be. Are you ready?